Of Blood and Honor
by Snickerick
Summary: In the dreadful years of war, the history shall repeat itself, and their lives were destinied to cross.
1. Prologue

Author's notes are at the bottom.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_Prologue_

_The Death of 51st King of Ba Sing Se was but one of many Tragedies to befall the Kingdom of Earth._

_The Air of Hope that had surrounded H.R.H. Prince Kuei's Birth was now quite lost: Earth Kingdom had been set adrift at the Mercy of History's restless Tides._

_At this Time, the two Great Empires struggled for Dominion over the World: Earth Kingdom the East, Fire Nation the West. The Invasion of the Western Coast was Fire Nation's first Step in its eastward March._

_With Air Nomads consumed by the Hell-Fires of War, it seemed clear that Fire Nation would soon mete out a like Fate to Earth Kingdom._

_The Fall of the Fortress at Taku tolled the Destruction of the greater part of Earth Kingdom's Forces. A Counter-Attack was mounted by the Order of the Knights of Ba Sing Se, ever Brave and Faithful, but against the martial Might of the Fire Nation Armies, they stood little Chance of Victory._

_Indeed, their defeat was to be absolute. Soon thereafter, Fire Nation came forward offering Terms of Peace. Or, as one might rather put it, Terms of Earth Kingdom's Surrender._

_The 51st King of Ba Sing Se, the Ruler of Earth, had no Choice but to accept these Terms before the Fire Nation Army would come knocking the Doors of the Great Wall of Ba Sing Se. It was, thus, only with Reluctance that He intended to set out for Taku Fortress - now under Fire Nation Occupation - to affix His Seal to the Fire Lord's Treaty of Peace._

_The King had scarce to be departing His Royal City of Ba Sing Se when the Remnants of the Order made their Return._

_And, not a Moment too soon, a terrible Revelation awaited them._

_The Treaty was about to be signed with Steel and Writ in royal Blood._

_- Memoirs of Admiral Jeong Jeong. Chapter 11: Of the Fall of Kingdoms_

The Pohuai Stronghold soared high near in the now abandoned and destroyed City of Taku. The Earth Kingdom's line (at least what had been left of it), had abandoned it ten days ago and retreated to their capital again. Now when one looked at it, he would see only ash and corpses lying on the ground blown to smithereens.

It was dead silence hanging over the city. Not two weeks ago, it had been full of explosions and dying screams, men falling for the sake of their beloved homeland. Now that it had been torn and consumed, it could finally rest in an eternal silence.

Prince Ozai, the Brigadier of the Invasion of Taku, sat around the camp fire along his comrades. The enormous soldier camp was filled with laugh and joy over the victory they had achieved, and Ozai could not help but be proud of himself inside his mind. It was he who had led the raid, not his brother. He winced inside at the thought. His wonderful, distinguished, marvellous brother, General and Crown Prince Iroh everyone loved so deeply.

"Have a smoke, Ozai," Colonel Chang offered him a cigarette. "Yeh worthy of it, m'Boy," he inhaled his own cigarette deeply, clearly enjoying it.

"Yeah, who'd've thought sum'one that young could lead a victory like that!" Major Kazur agreed and took a swig from his bottle. "How old 'r yeh, again? Seventeen?"

"Aye," Ozai replied as he lit his cigarette, "But remember I've been in the military for the most of my life."

"Yeh should be a General," Colonel Chang stated and received loud voices of agreements around him, "Otherwise yer talents will be wasted."

The tales of how Ozai had taken the troops to victory became some background noise in his ears as the young prince started to ponder whether his father would be proud of him or not when he would return home. If he even was about to return to the capital, he realized. He could be sent to some other raid right away. But before they received any other commands from the war council, they would just celebrate their breakthrough towards Ba Sing Se.

As long as he could remember, he had been told how magnificent heir his brother was. That he would never be greater than Crown Prince Iroh. Over two decades between them, who was he to argue? It had always been so, but now he was not too sure about it would be like that in the future. Though they were as different as day and night (how exact that simile was), it didn't mean that he would stand no chance against the sibling rivalry they had. Or, at least, Ozai had. For some reason, their father had always favoured his first-born over all, and been nothing more but cold, authoritative and harsh when it came to the second-born. And this had created the pressure and need to race with his brother in Ozai's mind. He always had to master things quickly, be better and better…

He was drawn away from his thoughts when he heard someone yelling.

"Brigadier! Prince Ozai!"

Ozai, along all of the other men near the area, turned his head to the soldier who ran towards them. Gasping for air, the knight stopped beside the circle made from the military men, and drew his hand onto his chest.

"Brigadier, sir..!"

"Easy, soldier," Ozai dumped his cigarette, "What now?"

"Your brother, sir…The Crown Prince, sir," the soldier said and his voice trembled, "He's here, sir…"

"What?" Not even a blink of an eye, Ozai was standing in front of the soldier. If a look could kill, the poor messenger would had been dead in the moment. "What do you mean 'he's here'?"

"H-he arrived about ten minutes ago, sir," the knight stuttered as he took a couple of steps backwards. The funny thing in that was that he appeared to be a bit longer and more heavy-built than the very slender prince. "He said he wants to see you, sir."

Ozai muttered a couple of curses, this was what he wanted the least. His brother coming there and stealing the honor. Didn't that tea-addicted imbecile get it that the frontline was his area now?

He gave the soldier an angry glance, "Where is he?"

The poor man looked like he was about to be executed, "H-he's in the strategy tent, sir…"

Before the messenger had even finished his sentence, Ozai was marching towards the largest tent in the whole camp. The soldiers made way for their leader, since no one wanted to stand in his way when he was in that mood. Ozai's temper was legendary, and there was no guarantee what he could do.

"What are you doing here?" he barked as soon as he entered the tent. All the good and diplomatic manners, and respectful ways to speak he was supposed to have were all thrown away by his anger. Right now, that man in front of him wasn't the General or the Crown Prince, but only his older brother.

The distinguished man turned to look at him, giving a warm smile, "Why, hello to you too, little brother. Congratulations for your achievement," he spread his arms to embrace the young man, but Ozai took a step back glowering at him.

"I said 'what are you doing here'," Ozai repeated, but Iroh had already turned to look at the large map spread across the back wall.

"The military has raised you rough…How nice camp you have here," he said while examining the map, "And this place is swarming with people! I suppose it was a very victorious invasion?"

"Are you deaf or what?" the younger brother's patience was nearing the end. His jaw was clenched tightly and breath quickening.

Iroh sighed deeply and turned towards him, "Ozai, Father wants you home. He asked me personally to deliver the message to you."

But Ozai didn't listen to the latter sentence. The anger had been blown away as fast as it had risen. All he could think about was that his father wanted him home. Him, above all the other high-ranked men. This was what he had been waiting for all his life.

"…You serious?" he asked hesitantly, as he really couldn't believe his ears.

Iroh sighed deeply, "Do you really think I would have travelled all this way to the frontline only to mislead you, Brother?"

Ozai sneered, "Right, you're way too lazy for that."

Iroh laughed heartily, he never took any offence from his brother's rude taunting, "Perhaps I am. And now it came to my mind that I could take some good local tea with me, now that I am here."

Ozai lifted his other eyebrow, "What? Is your life so boring you have to search thrill from smuggling tea?"

"Like I said, you've grown rude…Tea unifies people," Iroh stated, "Besides, Lu Ten likes tea made from fresh Earth Kingdom ingredients."

Ozai rolled his eyes and intended to leave the tent; he had started to feel he couldn't stand his brother's philosophy about life's little delights any longer, "Be my guest, brother."

"Where are you going?" Iroh turned his glance away from the dual swords he had been admiring, towards his little brother.

"To have a good smoke before we leave."

"You shouldn't ruin your health…"

But Iroh's words reached deaf ears since the younger prince had already stepped out of the tent. He immediately lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, eyes closed as his mind started to become clear. Still tasting the flavour in his mouth, his mind pictured the words cold plain as a stone. _Father wants you home_. He puffed the bitter smoke out into the fresh air. _Father wants you__ home. _He took another inhale while he began to walk towards the tent he slept in._** Father **__wants y o u home_.

"Yo, Ozai!" someone called him. Lieutenant Zaku, a young man of Ozai's own age, came running down the little hill and zigzagged among the other soldiers. "What are our next orders, sir? Where are we going next?" he immediately asked when he reached his commander. Ozai offered the lieutenant a coffin nail.

"Well, I don't know about you guys…," he trailed off to inhale the smoke, "…but I'm going home."

The lieutenant arched an eyebrow at him, "You're…leaving us here?"

"The Fire Lord's will,"the prince gave him a simple explanation,"Who knows, maybe I'll come back like a boomerang. The Fire Lord might just give me new orders."

"Or maybe…," Lieutenant Zaku said hesitantly, "Maybe he'll promote you to General."

That made Ozai cough the smoke out of his lungs as he was about to suffocate. As a very loyal son to his Lord and Nation, his grand wish was to be as high-raked as possible in the military, too. If Fire Lord Azulon was really going to promote him, he would finally be in the same class as his brother, at least in some point.

"We'll see it then," he said and dumped his cigarette to the sandy ground. "The ship will depart in an hour."

How he wished he hadn't got another false hope yet again.

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A/N: Okay, where would I start... The reason I made Ozai speak so rudely, is that the military habits have got into him. And I made the soldiers speak with the same accent as Hagrid in HP on purpose (it was fun and that's how I imagine men speak in the military).

As for myself, I don't believe Ozai is evil (neither is Azula). In my opinion, he just grew up to be a very complicated person, even more than Zuko is (my guess is that Iroh joined Zuko in his search for the Avatar, because Zuko resembles his father very much, and Iroh didn't want history to repeat itself). I believe he had a failed relationship with Azulon, and possibly grew up without parents' love, and that's why he's mentally unbalanced (like Azula). And what comes to that... You might noticed the hints to it from the part his mind played with 'Father wants you home'. As crazy this may sound, but I believe he just works things out differently than other people.

The Memoirs of Admiral Jeong Jeong... As you might see, he thinks like a Fire Nation soldier, and then again, he does not. If you can understand what I mean ;) (by the way, the last sentence hints that the king was murdered)

Oh, and note that English isn't my first language, so my language skill has its limits.


	2. Chapter One: The Price of the Honorables

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_Chapter One: The Price of the Honorables_

The sun seemed to be always shining above the capital city. No cloud was to be seen up in the clear, almost white sky. The city itself didn't look like having changed at all: even from the sea one could see it was full of life, bursting with people doing their everyday business.

Prince Ozai leaned his elbows on the rail as he watched the land coming even nearer and nearer. His heartbeat increased every second they were reaching the mainland. The wind played with his raven-black hair, the water splashes teased him by reaching his armor-covered arms, but he didn't even recognize that. All he could concentrate was that he was finally getting back home, even for awhile. And to see his father face to face.

How long time had passed since he last stepped over the threshold of the Royal Palace? Two, maybe even three years. It was when his nephew had turned twelve, and was therefore confirmed as the Heir of the Crown Prince. Speaking of birthdays, his own was coming up in a couple of weeks. The last ones he had celebrated, so to say, in the war, but he wasn't too sure about how his 18th day was going to be dignified.

Iroh strolled up and placed a hand onto his brother's shoulder, "Look, Ozai! What a crowd!" Indeed, there was an enormous number of people at the harbor and talking eagerly, as if waiting for something great to happen.

Iroh led his brother towards the drawbridge since they started to landfall. Now people started to point at them and throng to get nearer and see better.

"Oh look, Iroh," Ozai sneered as the effect annoyed him. "Got your fan club to receive you, eh?"

Once again, Iroh laughed heartily, "No, no, little brother," he replied, "They are here to see _you_!"

Ozai frowned and was almost frozen right then and there because of Iroh's words. True, he had always been admired for his good looks, but after being so long in the war where only the enemies were acting like the wild crowd now; he wasn't too keen on being like a zoo animal under their stares.

Iroh kept his grip on Ozai's shoulder and led him forward, "Now, try to behave. And enjoy the popularity", he whispered into the younger prince's ear.

The Crown Prince pushed his brother through the masses. From the right and left of him, Ozai could hear separate sentences, like "Look, he's so handsome!" "I thought he looked more like the Crown Prince!" "Did you hear that he conquered the Taku Fortress?" "How cute freckles he has!" "I wish he'd look this way!". Despite the flurry going on around him, Ozai's mind started to clear out and his ironic nature coming over. Well, _he _wasn't going to look like some idiot who couldn't take such a crowd under control.

"Okay, okay, make way, ladies and gentlemen. I can't even breathe here," he had the persuasive tone he never hesitated to use. His status changed in a second from horror-petrified to the charming prince he was known to be, and frankly that didn't surprise Iroh at all. He never had seen Ozai speechless, so he had expected that change of attitude.

"What a crowd of pure lunatics!" Ozai stated when they reacted their escorts at last. "Did you hear some crazy redhead saying if I don't take off my upper armor, she'll come and do it herself! They're worse than bloodthirsty Earthbenders of the Terra Team!"

Iroh laughed, "You will get used to it."

The Royal Palace stood firm and proud on the parade place of the whole city, having faith in its own impressive architecture. No other building in the Caldera City drew more glances than the palace with its wide, amorous courtyard. Though everyone else would have died to live inside its gorgeous walls, Ozai didn't really miss the time when he lived there.

The enormous crimson flag patterned by the Fire Nation symbol hung on the front wall. It brought the ripped and blood-stained flags into Ozai's mind, but he shrugged them off for he had something else to think about. Prince Lu Ten came hurriedly towards them, arms spread open to embrace the two older men.

"Father! How soon you came back!" Lu Ten and Iroh gave each other a quick hug by one arm. "And Uncle! I see you've become inured in the war" he turned at Ozai. "Welcome home!"

Ozai looked at the still fourteen-years-old young man in disbelief. He knew Lu Ten was sturdier than him, but his nephew dared to have _broader shoulders_ than he did. Now that he looked more closely, Lu Ten had grown very much since he had last seen him. Gone was the quite shy boy he used to bully, and was replaced by this stranger. Well, not all gone, he soon found out.

"Tell me all about the war, Uncle!" the younger teen pleaded eagerly.

"Well…," Ozai knew it was the best to just tell him or else he wouldn't leave him alone. He got to learn that he still held authority and respect in his nephew's eyes, as Lu Ten had admired him ever since from their childhood, despite the fact Ozai always teased him. Lu Ten had always been a quiet, shy and clumsy boy, but because of Ozai he had got into the 'older boys' games' in the Royal Academy for Boys and not been all alone.

What came to Ozai himself, he never had had true friends. They were more like comrades, companion, even minion, but absolutely not real friends. Ozai just had called them so. Lieutenant Zaku had belonged to that large gang years ago, before they were split because of the military education. Naturally Ozai, being the Fire Lord's son, had been educated to war for all his life, so they hadn't seen each other until Zaku had came to the battlefield half a year ago. The closest that he could come up with calling friends were Lu Ten and a few boys he had grown up with.

"Prince Ozai, the Fire Lord wants an audience with you," a Sage announced them, "And you, Prince Lu Ten, have your war strategy lessons in ten minutes."

"We'll see soon, Uncle!" Lu Ten made his way towards the opposite direction.

Ozai just lifted an eyebrow at his nephew's back. Sometimes Lu Ten's over-positive nature really got onto his nerves, but nevertheless he had the diplomacy not to say it out loud.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Isn't it the Prince Ozai himself?" came a deep, silky voice behind him. Ozai tilted his head just so that he could see the speaker over his shoulder.

A tall, brown-haired man with well-shaped sideburns stood there in a shining armour, holding a very exalted expression. The corners of his mouth were curved up in an arrogant smile, which somebody could have rendered as a friendly one, but Ozai had the strong feeling (and his instincts were pretty much always right when it came to people) that the man was just fawning him.

"Lieutenant Zhao," he said with a rather dry voice, but still politely took the hand Zhao was offering him.

"This is a great honor, Your Highness", Zhao said bowing his head downwards and then looking straight into Ozai's eyes. "The word of your marvellous victory in Taku has reached every ear in our whole homeland. I cannot do anything but admire your handiwork in there."

"Fascinating," Ozai replied, still holding onto the dry tone, "Now, if you excuse me, I have an audience with my father."

"Of course, this was my pleasure, Your Highness," Zhao bowed at the prince in front of him, watching him go.

_Indeed_, Ozai thought as he walked the corridor leading to the throne room. _It was all **your** pleasure…_

As he was deeply in his sarcastic thoughts, he couldn't see the person coming from behind the corner in front of him, and walked straight towards her.

"Sorry," he grasped the girl from her shoulders so she wouldn't fall over to the floor.

"I-I'm sorry, it was all my fault," the girl breathed looking at her feet and let her long hair fall down to hide her flushed face.

Ozai didn't pay any attention to the girl's reddened face or her apology, as he was already on his way. Nor did he notice that the girl stayed still, watching his back as long as she could.

Before he entered, Prince Ozai stopped to prepare himself. The heavy doors of the throne room were suddenly very repulsive, and if it was up to him, he'd rather turn over his heels and head for the opposite direction. But since he didn't belong to the caste of cowards, he took a deep breath, ready to face the only person that haunted every act he dared to make.

He was welcomed by hot air that hit his face instantly, cutting the surface of his skin. It felt like he had stepped into a hearth, the armour was suddenly very heavy and his joints were aching. Still, he didn't let the effect be seen on the outside. Instead, he walked head high and eyes locked at the large flames cutting the floor between him and Fire Lord Azulon. The man he called his father only because he had to.

He bowed down, eyes fixed on the floor, and waited for the dark figure behind the flame to speak. However, Fire Lord Azulon took his time, as if he was examining him.

Heartbeat ringing in his ears, sweat coming from his temple, and every second could have been an eternity. He started to feel odd, like he couldn't breathe. His vision became blurry and he couldn't see his fingers clearly. The prince clenched his hands into fists while concentrating his stare at the floor which was lit by the golden flames.

"You have been away for a long time," the Fire Lord finally launched into speech.

Prince Ozai lifted his glance up, fixing his position so he was bowing on one knee.

"The frontline has made a good effect on you," the ruler continued, his voice was dry and neutral. "I can see it has raised you."

Ozai fixed his gaze back to the floor as the bright flames burned his eyes.

Slowly, his father was getting to the point, "The reason I called you here…"

The princes mind remained as blank as his expression while he listened, marking every word carefully.

"…Is that you are to go search for the Avatar."

"What!"

Ozai's head snapped up, and he couldn't or even remembered to hide his astonished look.

"But why? I had everything perfectly under control in the frontline," his voice sounded odd, desperate and bitter at the same time though he didn't feel either of them. "My Lord," he added quickly.

"Is my order displeasing you, Prince Ozai?" the Fire Lord's voice was hardening threateningly.

Ozai decided to let it come out, "I see it is quite pointless. The Avatar has been missing for the last seventy decades. Fire Lord Sozin and you, my Lord, both searched for him and the result was unfortunate. How could he possibly be found now?"

"The Air Nomads were destroyed. The Avatar could have escaped and hidden from us. However, the time has passed, and the next in the reborn cycle is water. The Avatar might has been reborn yet again, this time to the Water Tribes. You will start tomorrow."

"But…"

Fire Lord Azulon stood up behind the flames, "My word is final. If you succeed, you will be promoted to General. Now, dismissed."

Ozai kept his dignity as he left the throne room. Right after closing the doors, he marched to the nearest balcony to get a smoke for the sake of his nerves.

So _this_ was the price he had to pay to become a General. He had to leave the frontline to search for the Avatar, and no one even knew if he existed! He was sure that was his father's goal: to get him as far away as he could _and _hold back promoting him. So that he wouldn't even accidentally be in the same class as Iroh.

As the Heir to the Throne, it was supposed to be Iroh's duty to depart for the task. But yet again, it was _him_ doing the dirty job for the Crown Prince. The precious first-born prince was allowed to stay here, safe and sound, while the second one was bound to the impossible task. His resentment towards his brother was filling his mind. All the venomous thoughts he had about Iroh were fulfilled with bitterness, and he felt like his head was about to break.

"Ah, there you are! How was the audience?" Prince Iroh's voice reached his ears.

Ozai didn't even bother to turn and look at him, but focused his gaze to the horizon far away. Because of the silence that hang over them, Iroh knew immediately something was wrong. Otherwise his brother wouldn't look so displeased.

"I suppose something went wrong," he carefully poked the ice. The 38-years-old man didn't like to see his baby brother like that. "What is the matter?"

Finally, Ozai glanced at him and made his brother's heart skip a few beats. His eyes were reflecting pure hatred towards the older man. Saying nothing, the second-born prince marched away, and the first-born was left with the brooding atmosphere.

They hadn't ever had a close relationship due to the large age gap between them, and suddenly Prince Iroh realized he really didn't know his brother at all. All these years he had been too busy with his duties and Lu Ten, and for that he had almost totally missed his brother's childhood. And now, he was afraid, it was far too late to try and build a bond between the two of them.

Prince Ozai slammed the heavy doors of his own chamber shut, the anger boiling through his veins. He had had to get away from Iroh, before he would've done something unforgivable, while he still managed to control himself. Inside, he was shaking uncontrollably and could barely breathe, but from the outside he was just leaning against the doors eyes closed. This wasn't anything abnormal for him; he often had those feelings when he was upset, nervous or extremely angry. But they had strange influence on him: he often made reckless actions just to relieve himself.

He walked in front of the mirror, saw the pale figure staring back at him with large dark eyes. He raised his hands to the back of his head, sharp knife in the left. One gesture, sound of a sharp cut, and his short-ish ponytail was left in the other hand's grip. He let it slip and fall down to the floor. Everything seemed to happen like slowed down, every sound he heard echoed ten times louder in his ears. Now that he looked at the mirror, he received the sight of the same boy, this time with shorter hair. A smile crept to the other corner of his mouth.

He wasn't going to wait for tomorrow. He was leaving right now, without seeing anyone of his family. They could wish for the Avatar between themselves for all he cared.

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A/N: My belgian shepherdpuppy Zack turned 1-year-old today, so I decided to post the first real chapter to delight(?) you all :)

Yes, Ozai has a few freckles across his cheekbones! I wanted to add something in his appearance that would make him look harmless, even a bit childlike, just to push the boundaries and mess with him even more. As for the people waiting for him... it was my own joke about the react when his face was first seen in the series; I was randomly surfing some forums and noticed that people liked his looks, if not his personality, so yeah, if you can still catch on me ;) And I don't really like long hair with boys, so I made him cut his ponytail off. So if you can imagine a scarless Zuko from the end of Book Two(with a few freckles), that's how I imagine him looking like.

And remember, Ozai is a teen in this story, so he also thinks like a teenager. That's why his ego got a scratch about Lu Ten being sturdier than him, as I've always thought he was very slender-built back then (like Zuko). Oh, and his meeting with Zhao was actually quite fun to write. Imagine Ozai saying "Lieutenant Zhao" with the same tone like his son said "Captain Zhao" in _The Southern Air Temple_. Well, that was all, if I haven't bored you to no end.


	3. Chapter Two: This Is Your Future

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_Chapter Two: This Is Your Future_

Lady Ursa, the daughter of Commander Shyu and Lady Roz, had never expected the day's outcome. Her childhood had been very uneventful and calm, since she had lived far from the busy life of Caldera City. Moving there had been a very tough piece to swallow, and she still recalled the day they had arrived.

_A large Fire Nation ship was arriving to the port of the capital city. Ursa leaned against the rail watching the nearing city, the wind _sweeping _her silken, chocolate-colored hair as it glittered delicately under the bright sunshine. At the same time, she felt curious and a bit scared, or, perhaps, thrilled. After ten long years, returning to the capital was a bit frightening. She had lived on a small island for the most important years of her life until now. The 16-years-old wasn't sure if she would settle easily or not. After all, things had changed during the past ten years. She wasn't even sure if her childhood friends, Jeul and Kaira, still wanted to remain companions. It had been a long time since they had last met; three years ago on her 13th birthday. Keeping in touch with them (and the mainland in general) had proved to be a difficult task, because the island they lived on was quite far away. People called the island 'Roku's Island', since her grandfather, Avatar Roku, had lived (and died) there. Ursa liked the fact that the island was named after her grandfather. Her grandmother, Ta Min, had always told her about how brave, strong and wise his deceased husband had been, especially when Ursa had been a little girl. As a matter of fact, she would would have liked to remain a little child who sat on her grandmother's lap, listening to the old woman's endless stock of fairytales and historical stories. In fact, when she felt small and unhappy, she would search for her grandmother and ask for a fairytale about dangers and heroes, princes and princesses. Ta Min was always ready to open her up her secret box of stories._

_Ursa sighed as she was remembering the mainland moving announcement . Her father had interrupted their dinner by clearing his throat loudly, and then announcing his news. He, being the honorable admiral that he was, had received a new task from the Fire Lord himself. He had been summoned to discuss war-tactics and something else, something that Ursa couldn't take because she was too confused. Actually, she had been in shock; it had fallen right onto the bottom of her stomach, like an icy lump. Ursa had put away her chopsticks; she no longer hungry. Her father had noticed her reaction._

"_Do not worry, dear," he had tried to comfort his daughter. "I am confident that you will adjust to live in there quicker than you can even imagine."_

_Grandmother Ta Min had been against the moving into the mainland since the beginning. She had showed (very uncharacteristic) stubbornness about the subject._

"_I have lived here ever since I married your Father, which was before dragons became extinct!"_ _she had protested to Ursa's mother behind a locked door_. _If the subject hadn't been so serious, Ursa would have laughed. Sometimes her grandmother was very comical, even if she didn't mean to be. But in the end, obviously, Grandma Ta Min was forced to surrender. There was no way in hell she would have remained on the island by herself._

_Ursa leaned her elbows against the rail, resting her chin against her other palm. Even though her father was sure she would adjust to her new life, Ursa was not. She heard a sound of approaching footsteps behind her, and she immediately knew who it was._

"_Look at that, my dear," her mother placed her hands onto Ursa's shoulders, "Look how beautiful and… alluring the capital city is!"_

_Ursa only gave her a vague sneer (very lady-like, of course): she knew the elder woman only wanted to cheer her up. Sure, her mother had always considered the capital city as 'beautiful', but this time her comment was meant to make the teen feel better._

"_And look at how much people there are! All rushing around!" Lady Roz exclaimed enthusiastically, like a school girl, "Oh, how I've missed this!"_

_That comment made Ursa feel a bit bad. She had never considered about how much her parents might have wanted to move back into the mainland; she had childishly sulking over her own situation._ Of course_ she would adjust to the city, if she only wanted to. And _of course _she would have friends, if she wanted to. Maybe…_

"_And…," her mother continued, her voice even more eager, "We will find you a very fine and suitable husband!"_

_The breath stuck in Ursa's throat, and the teen started coughing. Her mother nearly had a heart attack when she noticed her daughter's bad reaction. Lady Roz squeezed her daughter hard on the shoulders._

"_Ursa, my dear, what's wrong?" she exclaimed, unable to do anything._

_Catching her breath, the teen managed to answer, "I'm fine… I just… I'm not sure if I'm ready for… _marriage._"_

_Lady Roz looked at her daughter for a while and tried to understand what she just heard. She gave a vivid (very lady-like, obviously) laugh, as it all became clear to her._

"_My little darling, I didn't mean you will immediately get married," she hugged her daughter tightly, "What I meant to say was that we'll search _a fiancé _for you, and after a couple of years you will marry him."_

"_Oh…," the teen said as she finally managed to calm down. The comment was stupid, but she couldn't figure out anything else to say. She held a slender hand over her chest, and beneath the fine ruby silk robe and cream-like skin she could feel her heart overdriving._

As long as Ursa could remember, she had been told that she would someday end up in an arranged marriage. Possibly a loveless one. Nevertheless, her mother had always said that a marriage with no love didn't mean an unhappy one. It was all up to her. Of course, her mother had been lucky and received a man she loved, so it was fairly easy for her to preach such things to Ursa. The teen had never worried about her future wedding before, but now that she thought about it butterflies flew up and around her stomach. Since she was sixteen, she realized she would be getting married very soon. And it kind of frightened her, too.

Now she found herself walking in the Royal Palace, the most distinguished place one would ever dream of. She couldn't believe her own eyes when they had arrived there, the building's glamour had stuck breath into her throat. Lady Roz had had a very satisfied smile on her lips as she gauged her daughter's reaction. Ursa had worn even more astonished expression when they had stopped before the palace's gates.

"Are we going in, Mother?" she had asked, bewildered.

"Yes, your father has business in there, a war meeting or something of the like…," her mother offered a vague gesture, "I thought we could visit the palace. Don't you love this place, Ursa?"

"Yes, Mother," Ursa replied, "This is a very lovely place."

While walking around in the courtyard, they had bumped into Ursa's mother's old friends. The ladies had much to talk about, and Ursa had decided to explore the place on her own.

She had no idea where she was. The more she walked, the more corridors opened up to her. Nervously Ursa continued her way, hoping to meet someone who could tell her where to find to the courtyard. At the very least she could sit there and wait for her mother to find her. But the passages were empty, even the servants were nowhere to be found.

She was just walking around a corner when someone ran into her.

"Sorry," a young man grasped her shoulders. He passed Ursa before she even realized.

"I-I'm sorry, it was all my fault," she stammered apologies at his back. But the boy was already heading towards the end of the corridor, so she doubted he even heard her.

She couldn't help but notice how awfully handsome the boy had been. Her face was still flushed, cheeks like red roses.

Still confused, she continued walking the opposite direction as if in a trance, mind still wrapped around the previous event. At first she didn't even hear her mother calling.

"Ursa! There you are!" Lady Roz reached her daughter, "I was getting worried about you, dear."

"I'm sorry," Ursa muttered and hoped her cheeks had stopped flushing.

"Come, your father and I have something to tell you," the mother led her daughter out to the courtyard once again.

Ursa saw his father, a tall man in uniform, waiting for them by the turtleduck pond, which reflected the clear sky like a mirror. A litter of turtleducks were learning to swim, and the sight made Ursa's heart melt. She crouched down a couple pieces of bread in hand. Immediately a very cute baby turtleduck swam to her, staring with it black button-eyes. She didn't know if her mind was playing tricks on her, but she could've sworn it bore a resemblance to the young man she had met for the fleeting second.

"Ursa, we have something to tell you," her father launched into speech.

Ursa lifted her gaze up, "Yes, Father?"

Commander Shyu cleared his throat, "Since you've reached the marrying age, we have been searching for your fiancé for a long time," he spare a glance for his wife, who encouraged him to go on, "I have a good political bond with the Fire Lord himself, and…"

Ursa's heartbeat quickened as her father spoke.

"…We have agreed that you are to marry His Majesty's second son, Prince Ozai."

Ursa felt her heart fall down to the bottom of her stomach and bounce up to her throat. She was going to marry _a royal_. She didn't know very much of the living royals, only the basic facts. Of course, there was much more information surrounding the Crown Prince, and the second one was quite a mystery to everyone. Almost all she knew about him was his recent achievement in Taku and the fact that he was very good-looking.

"But, Father…," the young woman stuttered, "I've never spoken to the prince. I've never even met him!"

Commander Shyu frowned, "Ursa, this is the best match you can have. Are you unhappy with our decision?"

"No, no, I'm just surprised," his daughter hurriedly assured, "Yes, this is a great arrangement…I am happy that I can connect us with the Royal Family."

Lady Roz gave her a long look. She knew what her mother was thinking; she knew that her daughter really wanted to marry a man she loved. But if the Fire Lord agreed with them, who were they to refuse? They would be banished and shame would hang over their family for centuries. No one refused to marry a prince or princess, if nothing else.

"Fortunately, we are able to meet Prince Ozai himself," Commander Shyu announced, "He has returned from the frontline today, as I've heard." He led his family towards the entrance of the palace, a very pleased smile drawn to his lips.

"When we will be married?" Ursa asked with a shaking tone.

"Our Lord told me he will send Prince Ozai away with a task for some time," her father replied, "The wedding will be almost directly after he returns."

A servant came hurriedly towards them, "Commander Shyu, I am terribly sorry," he rubbed his hands nervously, "But it seems that Prince Ozai left half an hour ago."

* * *

Prince Ozai stood in front of a large dreadnought and examined it with bored expression. There were a name, _Leviathan_ (whatever it meant), written by cold black paint to the hard and cold steel.

The ninth fleet of the Fire Nation Army was going to be his companion for now on. At least he could pretend to be going back to the war, which really didn't make him feel any better.

At first, the commanders of the fleet had been bewildered for the sudden change of his hairstyle. Ozai didn't feel the need to explain his acts to anyone, and instead had ignored the question by asking when they were departing.

"The sooner the better," he had made clear they better hurry up themselves, or he was not in response for his actions. His only wish was to leave that city far behind, since he wasn't really wanted in here. According to his father, at least. He knew Lu Ten would be disappointed (the fact didn't really move him), but he had to get out of there. He couldn't stand Iroh's presence any longer, his concerned stares, worried words and all the other shit he ever came up with to him.

"Sir, we're ready to leave!"

Ozai nodded, completely ready for that. When the ship sailed towards the horizon, he cast one last look at the Royal Palace, the magnificent building he used to call home. He wasn't sure if it had ever really had been that.

Little did he know that after a fair few days, his life was about to change for ever.

The dreadnought was heading steadily towards the South Pole, and the icebergs soaring from beyond the surface told them it was near. The cold fresh air tingled Ozai's cheeks and bare arms, when he was spending time by practicing his bending skills.

"Stupid Iroh with his stupid ideals…," he muttered. He was aware of his brother's cautions towards peace, though being a Fire Nation General himself. It was Iroh who had suggested the treaty of peace between the Earth Kingdom in the first place. But more or less unfortunately, the Earth King had died before the treaty had been signed. There were rumors in the air that the King had been murdered by some Earth Kingdom rebels; their intentions had been to prevent him from signing it, in which they had succeeded perfectly. Ozai knew Iroh did not want to be the world's dictator, and the younger prince was sure he would restore the nations after his crowning. And that would make _his_ achievements, all that he had ever worked so hard for, vain.

He was just about to create a fire-whip, when suddenly a horrible sound of crashing metal ripped his ears. The next thing he knew was that the forward of the ship soared up towards the cloudless sky, screams echoed somewhere near and he himself was falling in the air.

It was like thousands of needles had struck his skin when he descended into the arms of the freezing cold sea. He sunk deeper towards the darkness before his body reacted. Looking up at the surface he saw the ship starting to slowly sink as well, and the urge of air hit his lungs. His body made its own decision to head up, but the pressure was pushing him downwards. He kept struggling towards the sky, but the lack of air crushed his lungs and made him ready to faint. The last sight he caught was an underwater iceberg before everything went back.

* * *

A/N: I don't know how many of you remembers that Ozai really did search for the Avatar: Iroh said so in the very first episode. And since this has confused you all, this is set in the Avatarverse. But because I don't know a better word for 'cigarette', let's just deal with it, okay? :)

Yay, Ursa is in the story! We all love her, don't we?... Strange that I really don't have much to say about the chapter.

Oh, and our wonderful **TrueThinker** is the Beta reader from this chapter :) Thank you!


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